I hate how easy it is to reach for "the reunion days of a once-great band" as a comparison/ simile. There are so many bands who reunite and make great new music together, and our cultural imagination doesn't have enough room for this. Soft Cell, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Jesus Jones, EMF: they broke up, came back a long time later, and made some of the best records of their careers. Sparks never quite broke up, but they made 1 album in a 13-year-span after a series of bad albums in the mid-to-late '80s, then emerged as their best selves, one of the great bands of this century as a pair of old men. There's been three albums of original Jethro Tull material this decade, and two ('the Zealot Gene' and 'Curious Ruminant') are quite good.
That's without getting into great reunion albums by bands hardly anyone heard of to begin with. Tub Ring's 2024 and 2026 records! The new Parts & Labor record! That Rheostatics reunion album from 2019! It is understandable if you didn't know they were gone, or that once they'd been around, but, they aged wonderfully.
I'm not pretending I don't know what Joe means. A shambling aggregation of men calling themselves "Yes" still play concerts and make records, for no non-monetary reason I can detect. Albums by the reunited Pixies do seem obligatory at best. The Boo Radleys were fascinatingly odd in the 1990s; now the reunited members make lightweight replacement-level Britpop.
But I think a lot of bands get together again, reach creative inspiration together again, and then find that "their biggest hit in four different ways" is all the fans want. I am glad Joe Posnanski never broke up with himself, and that we all await his continued artistic growth happily. :-)
I 100% agree with him about MLB's new connections to gambling, btw. Ugh.
My favorite autographed baseball is signed by Bob Costas. Really disheartened by the constant gambling intersection with MLB and all major sports, corrupts the spirit of the game in such an ugly way. This will become known as a pivotal and sad era in the sport, much like the steroid era tarnished those games and players and results. I wanted all the wild card series' to go three games, just because there's not much baseball left before we face a long winter without. I'm watching every inning I can of every game I can, though it's near impossible to keep up with where to watch or to have access to watch everything.
I dislike the odd 3 game wild card series and pretty much check out of them (unless my team is playing - a rare occurrence) until the LDS. Unless there is a game 3, (winner take all) game, and then I might watch it if I can figure out what network it is on. It seems as if few people watch, and it makes me wonder really how much money these early rounds make?
You know, I have never minded sports gambling. I lived in Las Vegas for a time and would place an occasional wager. I don't have any of the phone apps because where I live (no longer in Nevada) there are sports books reasonably close if I really want to make one, and I neither want the temptation to make a bet on a whim nor do I want my money sitting there (in the apps) doing nothing so that it is there when I decide to. If I truly think a line is wrong, I will go to the casino and place a bet with cash because it feels different when I spend it. If I don't feel strongly enough to go there, I probably shouldn't bet it.
I don't even mind the tasteless commercials. What I do mind is the networks and sports show (TV and Radio) constantly touting things like the above mentioned bets, especially in game bets like that and the constant parlays (It is not a coincidence that parlays have the highest house edge) I am a compartmentalization guy, and would like to watch sport or listen to sports talk without being touted within the game or show.
There has to be a way to have the freedom to gamble I am not a prohibitionist, even for things that cause some people problems) without the games becoming secondary. Also, the in game props are just an invitation to cheat, (The Cleveland pitchers certainly won't be the last) and really only appeal to problem gamblers otherwise. The MLB, NFL, and networks are fostering addicts by advertising these. Anyone who bets these has a problem, and everyone advertising it knows that.
The Ads appear tasteless - due to gambling's allure and easy cost to create an ad. Similarly with many of the old alcohol ads - but with greater rewards! (so they say). And for the ad market - 18-30 yrs. old! The industry knows the inveterate problem gamblers - eventually some shall be banned (or already might be).
The amount of $ bet on 1 MLB game easily matches or exceeds proceeds from attendance of that game. If it were not so, the industry would've folded already. It's not any wonder why the owners wanted in.
The saddening part of it - one more allowable vice for younger folks. Vaping, marijuana, and gambling - legal in most areas of the country. Lifelong habits, difficult to break.
Agree with you about sports gambling. It’s sickening. It’s also not an honest game. If you are good at it, the house will set limits on you. If you’re bad at it, you’ll be encouraged and prodded to keep gambling . . . and losing.
Bob Costas, like Al Micheals. Incredible body of work, the last few years we get with them, is something for us to treasure because we got to hear them continue. Does Michael's on Prime's TNF tarnish "Do you believe in miracles?" Hell no. Nor does it tarnish his amazing career at ABC when he called everything, or the last half of his career when he was #1 NFL play-by-play voice for ABC/ESPN and NBC. For players, Mantle was a great example. As is Mays. As is just about every all time great. Plus, Costas brings us more, than just being an announcer. He's also a storyteller, keeping stories alive. Like a guy named John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil did. Which is the lifeblood of America's Pastime.
Now I'm wondering what a "Joy of Baseball" tote bag would look like. Would it be a plain solid color with the image of the book cover on it? Would it be off-white with imitation red stitching on it (to sort of resemble a baseball)? Would it have photos / artwork of some of the Great Moments in Baseball History on it?
Back a few posts back Joe has a link that will take you to a page where you can enter in your order information and when you do, you’ll be taken immediately to a page with the chapters listed, and his story about how batting averages were created.
So... I've been against gaming for pro sports. But owners aside (this just isn't MLB but all pro sports) the gambling demand by fans, casual fans and non-fans is huge. Someone commented on alcohol destroying lives, but alcohol and pro sports have been around since the 1800's. I posit that in 10 years, we might see the real troubles with individuals gambling on pro sports. And of course, the continual cheating provided by gambling, causing tilted wins, skewed results, etc.
Habitual gamblers, typically do not abound with a personal M1 supply. Eventually, no one can beat the house ... regularly.
P.S. - All of this is simply done instantly, by phone or other digitizing device. Or put another way - Your phone is a potential slot machine.
I don’t know if it’s still so, but for years Black Hawk and Lincolnland JCs were feeders for University of Illinois athletes who needed seasoning or GPA help.
Beautiful Joe - but here’s the BEST thing you wrote:
“And I thought to myself, not for the first time but probably the loudest time, that MLB has taken our beautiful game and turned it into a tawdry, cheap, and corrupt slot machine. To think that there were people out there who lost actual money because Lucas Spence faced five pitches in the bottom of the fifth inning of a 5-0 wildcard game before singling off Sean Newcombe makes me so sad.”
A pox on all the owners and the others who supported this, in pursuit of the almighty $$. And all of ours.
Just to play devils advocate... There's a chance that because of betting there were a some people who all the sudden cared about the Lucas Spence at bat when most of the country had already checked out because it was a 5-0 game.
MLB can be so disgusting. The non-stop encouragement to bet, on basically everything. And the situation that Joe described it’s absolutely perfect for a bribe. A batter, especially a young guy who isn’t making the really big bucks, get communicated to with maybe an earpiece to stretch out the bat or to shorten it for a tidy little sum. It wouldn’t make much of a difference in a game, especially for teams that are out of the pennant race in August. It’s a non-trivial chance that it has already happened and will continue to do so.
But what I really wanna talk about is something that hit me a lot harder than this idea with betting and MLB. That is the idea that they want to build a ballpark and have a game in one of our national parks. In the Ken Burns documentary about our national parks they quote somebody making a statement something like having national parks was maybe America’s best idea. They can be crowded but they are places of beauty and natural wonder. Why would anybody think about building a baseball park and have a game in one of them? My initial emotional reaction was that if this were to happen, I would divorce myself from any attachment to the game. Please let common sense and at least some people who have the power keep this from happening.
Been waiting for the appropriate time to make the above comment. Tieing it in to something else kind of disgusting seemed my chance. I wonder if or when Joe will ever make a comment on this ludicrous proposal
Yeah, Joe, while I was watching the game on Peacock between the 'Stros and the team officially blessed by the Supreme Pontiff/Bishop of Rome/Bob from the South Side, hearing Jason Benetti hyping Draft Kings (plus Anthony Rizzo on the broadcast, who's a talented color commentator but also a shill for a gambling site) made my heart hurt a little bit. Man, I love Benetti - he's probably my #1 broadcaster going right now - but he's gotta read the copy in front of him. It's like he's held hostage by MLB's insatiable greed.
OK - I need to focus on the joy of the postseason and the Sox brought me some last night. My Astros-loving side of my family is annoyed with me, but that's OK, they can take it up with Leo. Hope Tommy Pham can play a part in getting the Pale Hose into the next round and they have at least one game in Sox Park.
Between the good works of Bob from Dolton & you CardinalJedi, I hope that our WSox do get one game in Sox Park this season (actually two would be better because I have tickets to ALDS Game 4, if necessary). In this my 65th season of being a WSox fan, I have yet to attend a WSox post season game.
Most of that has been my fault. Not enough money, lazy in pursuit of tickets, misjudging which tickets to buy (if necessary means may not play, dumbo), family obligations, work obligations, just hasn't happened. But this season, I feel it's different.
They may not win the WS, or get to the WS, or the ALCS but they will get me to a ALDS game ... maybe. Thanks Cardinal!
I'm with everybody on the gambling ads but are they really worse than being pummelled by Budweiser and Coors like we used to be. Alcohol has destroyed so many more lives than gambling,
Yes, the gambling ads during games are much worse. Promoting gambling during sporting events is one more sign of society’s decay. It stinks to high heaven.
I would say that gambling ads are slightly worse because gambling threatens the fundamental integrity of the game in a way that alcohol doesn’t. But your point is well taken - both gambling and alcohol can be horribly destructive addictions
The suicide rate amongst gambling addicts is surprisingly high. One of my friends has a wife who is a partner in an orthodontic practice. The practice's accountant was a gambling addict and stole about $70K from the business to feed his demons. The partners eventually found out and, instead of turning him in to the police. gave him a week to pay them back. He ended up killing himself the next day, leaving a family and young kids behind. Gambling addiction absolutely destroys lives, and it will only get worse as it becomes much more accessible.
For a fictionalized account, I like to point to Robert Patrick's character's arc in "The Sopranos." Yes, it sensationalized, but I think the end result of what happened to him, his family, and his business is probably fairly accurate.
I hate how easy it is to reach for "the reunion days of a once-great band" as a comparison/ simile. There are so many bands who reunite and make great new music together, and our cultural imagination doesn't have enough room for this. Soft Cell, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Jesus Jones, EMF: they broke up, came back a long time later, and made some of the best records of their careers. Sparks never quite broke up, but they made 1 album in a 13-year-span after a series of bad albums in the mid-to-late '80s, then emerged as their best selves, one of the great bands of this century as a pair of old men. There's been three albums of original Jethro Tull material this decade, and two ('the Zealot Gene' and 'Curious Ruminant') are quite good.
That's without getting into great reunion albums by bands hardly anyone heard of to begin with. Tub Ring's 2024 and 2026 records! The new Parts & Labor record! That Rheostatics reunion album from 2019! It is understandable if you didn't know they were gone, or that once they'd been around, but, they aged wonderfully.
I'm not pretending I don't know what Joe means. A shambling aggregation of men calling themselves "Yes" still play concerts and make records, for no non-monetary reason I can detect. Albums by the reunited Pixies do seem obligatory at best. The Boo Radleys were fascinatingly odd in the 1990s; now the reunited members make lightweight replacement-level Britpop.
But I think a lot of bands get together again, reach creative inspiration together again, and then find that "their biggest hit in four different ways" is all the fans want. I am glad Joe Posnanski never broke up with himself, and that we all await his continued artistic growth happily. :-)
I 100% agree with him about MLB's new connections to gambling, btw. Ugh.
My favorite autographed baseball is signed by Bob Costas. Really disheartened by the constant gambling intersection with MLB and all major sports, corrupts the spirit of the game in such an ugly way. This will become known as a pivotal and sad era in the sport, much like the steroid era tarnished those games and players and results. I wanted all the wild card series' to go three games, just because there's not much baseball left before we face a long winter without. I'm watching every inning I can of every game I can, though it's near impossible to keep up with where to watch or to have access to watch everything.
Why do they show so many crowd shots at Yankee Staduim, they don't at the other ballparks?
I dislike the odd 3 game wild card series and pretty much check out of them (unless my team is playing - a rare occurrence) until the LDS. Unless there is a game 3, (winner take all) game, and then I might watch it if I can figure out what network it is on. It seems as if few people watch, and it makes me wonder really how much money these early rounds make?
You know, I have never minded sports gambling. I lived in Las Vegas for a time and would place an occasional wager. I don't have any of the phone apps because where I live (no longer in Nevada) there are sports books reasonably close if I really want to make one, and I neither want the temptation to make a bet on a whim nor do I want my money sitting there (in the apps) doing nothing so that it is there when I decide to. If I truly think a line is wrong, I will go to the casino and place a bet with cash because it feels different when I spend it. If I don't feel strongly enough to go there, I probably shouldn't bet it.
I don't even mind the tasteless commercials. What I do mind is the networks and sports show (TV and Radio) constantly touting things like the above mentioned bets, especially in game bets like that and the constant parlays (It is not a coincidence that parlays have the highest house edge) I am a compartmentalization guy, and would like to watch sport or listen to sports talk without being touted within the game or show.
There has to be a way to have the freedom to gamble I am not a prohibitionist, even for things that cause some people problems) without the games becoming secondary. Also, the in game props are just an invitation to cheat, (The Cleveland pitchers certainly won't be the last) and really only appeal to problem gamblers otherwise. The MLB, NFL, and networks are fostering addicts by advertising these. Anyone who bets these has a problem, and everyone advertising it knows that.
The Ads appear tasteless - due to gambling's allure and easy cost to create an ad. Similarly with many of the old alcohol ads - but with greater rewards! (so they say). And for the ad market - 18-30 yrs. old! The industry knows the inveterate problem gamblers - eventually some shall be banned (or already might be).
The amount of $ bet on 1 MLB game easily matches or exceeds proceeds from attendance of that game. If it were not so, the industry would've folded already. It's not any wonder why the owners wanted in.
The saddening part of it - one more allowable vice for younger folks. Vaping, marijuana, and gambling - legal in most areas of the country. Lifelong habits, difficult to break.
Agree with you about sports gambling. It’s sickening. It’s also not an honest game. If you are good at it, the house will set limits on you. If you’re bad at it, you’ll be encouraged and prodded to keep gambling . . . and losing.
Bob Costas, like Al Micheals. Incredible body of work, the last few years we get with them, is something for us to treasure because we got to hear them continue. Does Michael's on Prime's TNF tarnish "Do you believe in miracles?" Hell no. Nor does it tarnish his amazing career at ABC when he called everything, or the last half of his career when he was #1 NFL play-by-play voice for ABC/ESPN and NBC. For players, Mantle was a great example. As is Mays. As is just about every all time great. Plus, Costas brings us more, than just being an announcer. He's also a storyteller, keeping stories alive. Like a guy named John Jordan "Buck" O'Neil did. Which is the lifeblood of America's Pastime.
Now I'm wondering what a "Joy of Baseball" tote bag would look like. Would it be a plain solid color with the image of the book cover on it? Would it be off-white with imitation red stitching on it (to sort of resemble a baseball)? Would it have photos / artwork of some of the Great Moments in Baseball History on it?
Don’t comment often and it won’t do any good but baseballs wedding with gambling can only end in disaster
One small benefit. It makes keeping shoeless joe out of the hall even more inane
I, too, am beyond saddened by the prevelance of gambling in our great game. It's sickening, and has been and will be a scourge for the future.
Re THE BOOK. I pre-ordered in person at our Barnes & Noble. How do I now get that offiicial notification to you?
Back a few posts back Joe has a link that will take you to a page where you can enter in your order information and when you do, you’ll be taken immediately to a page with the chapters listed, and his story about how batting averages were created.
So... I've been against gaming for pro sports. But owners aside (this just isn't MLB but all pro sports) the gambling demand by fans, casual fans and non-fans is huge. Someone commented on alcohol destroying lives, but alcohol and pro sports have been around since the 1800's. I posit that in 10 years, we might see the real troubles with individuals gambling on pro sports. And of course, the continual cheating provided by gambling, causing tilted wins, skewed results, etc.
Habitual gamblers, typically do not abound with a personal M1 supply. Eventually, no one can beat the house ... regularly.
P.S. - All of this is simply done instantly, by phone or other digitizing device. Or put another way - Your phone is a potential slot machine.
I don’t know if it’s still so, but for years Black Hawk and Lincolnland JCs were feeders for University of Illinois athletes who needed seasoning or GPA help.
Totally agree that the way gambling has invaded the sport is absolutely terrible. That said, I find it easy enough to ignore.
The Cubs' vaunted offense has scored 15 runs in the last seven games. Something's gotta change -- though, these are the Cubbies we're talking about.
Beautiful Joe - but here’s the BEST thing you wrote:
“And I thought to myself, not for the first time but probably the loudest time, that MLB has taken our beautiful game and turned it into a tawdry, cheap, and corrupt slot machine. To think that there were people out there who lost actual money because Lucas Spence faced five pitches in the bottom of the fifth inning of a 5-0 wildcard game before singling off Sean Newcombe makes me so sad.”
A pox on all the owners and the others who supported this, in pursuit of the almighty $$. And all of ours.
Just to play devils advocate... There's a chance that because of betting there were a some people who all the sudden cared about the Lucas Spence at bat when most of the country had already checked out because it was a 5-0 game.
So? What benefit does that create?
MLB can be so disgusting. The non-stop encouragement to bet, on basically everything. And the situation that Joe described it’s absolutely perfect for a bribe. A batter, especially a young guy who isn’t making the really big bucks, get communicated to with maybe an earpiece to stretch out the bat or to shorten it for a tidy little sum. It wouldn’t make much of a difference in a game, especially for teams that are out of the pennant race in August. It’s a non-trivial chance that it has already happened and will continue to do so.
But what I really wanna talk about is something that hit me a lot harder than this idea with betting and MLB. That is the idea that they want to build a ballpark and have a game in one of our national parks. In the Ken Burns documentary about our national parks they quote somebody making a statement something like having national parks was maybe America’s best idea. They can be crowded but they are places of beauty and natural wonder. Why would anybody think about building a baseball park and have a game in one of them? My initial emotional reaction was that if this were to happen, I would divorce myself from any attachment to the game. Please let common sense and at least some people who have the power keep this from happening.
Been waiting for the appropriate time to make the above comment. Tieing it in to something else kind of disgusting seemed my chance. I wonder if or when Joe will ever make a comment on this ludicrous proposal
>>Perfect for a bribe …<<<
See Emmanuel Clase. Very highly paid all star closer who (allegedly) would start batters with intentionally throwing balls wide of the zone.
It will only get worse.
Baseball ruined pennant races so they could have playoff games at 2 pm on weekdays that no one sees
Yeah, Joe, while I was watching the game on Peacock between the 'Stros and the team officially blessed by the Supreme Pontiff/Bishop of Rome/Bob from the South Side, hearing Jason Benetti hyping Draft Kings (plus Anthony Rizzo on the broadcast, who's a talented color commentator but also a shill for a gambling site) made my heart hurt a little bit. Man, I love Benetti - he's probably my #1 broadcaster going right now - but he's gotta read the copy in front of him. It's like he's held hostage by MLB's insatiable greed.
OK - I need to focus on the joy of the postseason and the Sox brought me some last night. My Astros-loving side of my family is annoyed with me, but that's OK, they can take it up with Leo. Hope Tommy Pham can play a part in getting the Pale Hose into the next round and they have at least one game in Sox Park.
Between the good works of Bob from Dolton & you CardinalJedi, I hope that our WSox do get one game in Sox Park this season (actually two would be better because I have tickets to ALDS Game 4, if necessary). In this my 65th season of being a WSox fan, I have yet to attend a WSox post season game.
Most of that has been my fault. Not enough money, lazy in pursuit of tickets, misjudging which tickets to buy (if necessary means may not play, dumbo), family obligations, work obligations, just hasn't happened. But this season, I feel it's different.
They may not win the WS, or get to the WS, or the ALCS but they will get me to a ALDS game ... maybe. Thanks Cardinal!
I'm with everybody on the gambling ads but are they really worse than being pummelled by Budweiser and Coors like we used to be. Alcohol has destroyed so many more lives than gambling,
Yes, the gambling ads during games are much worse. Promoting gambling during sporting events is one more sign of society’s decay. It stinks to high heaven.
I would say that gambling ads are slightly worse because gambling threatens the fundamental integrity of the game in a way that alcohol doesn’t. But your point is well taken - both gambling and alcohol can be horribly destructive addictions
The suicide rate amongst gambling addicts is surprisingly high. One of my friends has a wife who is a partner in an orthodontic practice. The practice's accountant was a gambling addict and stole about $70K from the business to feed his demons. The partners eventually found out and, instead of turning him in to the police. gave him a week to pay them back. He ended up killing himself the next day, leaving a family and young kids behind. Gambling addiction absolutely destroys lives, and it will only get worse as it becomes much more accessible.
For a fictionalized account, I like to point to Robert Patrick's character's arc in "The Sopranos." Yes, it sensationalized, but I think the end result of what happened to him, his family, and his business is probably fairly accurate.